EPT prepares for Monte Carlo Grand Finale

The European Poker Tour is preparing to close Season Five with a massive event offering 14 separate events, including the Main Event, a High Rollers Event, and the first ever Ante Up For Africa in Europe. EPT Grand Final presented by PokerStars.com will take place in Monte Carlo, Monaco between April 27^th and May 3^rd. This year, the event organizers are expecting to surpass last year attendance, only the €10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em (NLHE) event is expected to attract over 1,000 players for an estimated €12 million prize pool. At the moment, a total of 400 players have already qualified for the 2009 EPT Monaco Grand Final through PokerStars satellites.

The first ever Ante Up For Africa in Europe will also be held the night before the kick-off of the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. The charity event will raise money for the current humanitarian mission in crisis-torn Darfur, and will feature sports, music and movie celebrities including Nelly, Boris Becker, French rugby players Sebastien Chabal and Philippe Saint-Andre and French rapper Bruno "Kool Shen". Two major tournaments will be introduced this year, including the three-day €25,000 European High Roller Championship and the two-day €5,000 European Pot Limit Omaha Championship (PLO). Satellites have been running for the PLO tournament on PokerStars, offering a special three-day weekend prize package to Monte Carlo for qualifiers.

In addition, PokerStars will hold a special Poker Camp during the EPT Monte Carlo event. The Camp, which is taking place at the Monte Carlo Bay Resort, will feature members of Team PokerStars Pro and offer a series of events including interactive coaching sessions as well as daily battleship poker tournaments.

For the first time since the event was launched, PokerStars players will be able to buy-in online to all scheduled tournaments directly through their PokerStars accounts and will receive Frequent Player Points (FPP) for rewards in the PokerStars VIP Club. Online registration opened on April 20, 2009. For more information about the EPT Monte Carlo schedule and events, please visit europeanpokertour.com.